Last updated 19Oct22
Pryors Hut, Scotts Pine arboretum and old Horse Paddock
Pryors Hut is located on the crest of the Brindabella Range, in the gap north of Mt Gingera and south of Little Ginini Mountain in the Namadgi National Park and Bimberi Nature Reserve.
Location: GR 55H FA 61154-63147 (MGA94), Corin Dam 8626-1N 1:25000
Pryors Hut, May 2005
Visits: 19 Oct 22, 27 Mar 22, 20 Mar 22, 16 Feb 19, 14 Jun 17, 9-10 Jul 16, 16 Aug 14, 1 Feb 14, 15 Jun 13, 27 Oct 12, 13 Oct 12, 15 Oct 11, 30 Apr 11, 5 Feb 11, 12 Jun 10, 11 May 10, 5 Sep 09, 19 May 09, 14 Apr 09, 21 Mar 09, 17 Mar 09, 9-10 Jan 09, 3 Jun 08, 6 Feb 07, 4 Jul 06, 25 May 05
Documentation:
• KHA web site: The hut is just on the NSW side of the border with ACT which runs along the ridge. Also Known as Botanic Gardens Hut or the Annex Hut. Consisting of three rooms, with substantial stone footings, the hut is built of sawn timber, set vertically for the walls. There are three rooms, an ante room at the entrance, living room and bedroom. The floor is timber, with some covering. The roof and porch are covered with corrugated iron. There is an outside toilet. The hut is the best built in Namadgi, as it needs to survive vigorous weather conditions in winter. It has been a saviour for a number of parties. The hut was built in 1952, by Lindsay Pryor and party, as a shelter for those working in the Alpine Botanical Gardens, an annex to the National Botanical Gardens (nearby). Professor Pryor was a prominent member of the Board of the Botanical Gardens and one time Professor of Forestry at ANU. At the time the hut was built, he was Superintendent of Parks and Gardens for the ACT. It was built to provide shelter to those planting and tending the alpine plants. Originally only the ante-room was open, but now all three rooms are available to visitors. Strictly speaking, it is a few metres over the border into NSW, so as not to cause issues with the Cotter Catchment.
• KHA Namadgi database (private source). Site 215. Built in 1952 as shelter for workers engaged on the Alpine Botanic Garden. Contains a small ante room and a large main room, both sharing a single chimney, and a third room at the rear. Scots pine arboretum immediately to the south dates from ….
• ACT Heritage Register: Pryor’s Hut is a shelter built for the Alpine Botanic Garden, an annexe of the National Botanic Gardens, and reflects the shelter needs of people working in the exposed mountain conditions of the Brindabella Range. It remains the most intact built evidence of this activity. It is named after Professor Lyndsay Pryor, the then Superintendent of Parks and Gardens and a significant figure in Canberra’s landscape history.
• Signage at Hut: The hut was built as Alpine Botanic Hut in the early 1950′s. As the sign on the door indicates, it was built for personnel tending the alpine annexe of the National Botanic Gardens. This was established in the Mt Gingera area under the supervision of Lindsay Pryor, the Superintendent of Parks and Gardens. A coastal annexe was established at Jervis Bay.
In the late 1950′s, Pryor was appointed Professor of Botany at Canberra University College (later ANU). Emphasis was then placed on the development of the present Gardens site at Black Mountain and the coastal annexe. The alpine annexe fell into disuse. The only traces of it now are this hut, remains of the old horse paddock nearby and some plant markers made of huon pine on a metal stand.
The pines below the hut were planted in the 1950s by members of the Snowy Mountains Authority Landscape Section. They are Scotts Pine (Pinus silvestris).
The hut became known as Pryors Hut in recognition of Professor Pryor’s contribution to the development of the Botanic Gardens, the study of and horticultural development of native plant species, the landscape development of Canberra and the evolution of the Australian forestry school and industry. This hut straddles the Australian Capital Territory – New South Wales border and lies partially within Namadgi national park and partly within Bimberi Nature Reserve.
Pryors Hut 1988 and 1976, signage 1988
(The Australian National Botanic Gardens makes web-quality photos freely available for non-commercial use. Photos sourced from D.804, D.183, D.807, D.806)
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